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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22389877">Fake Fate</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ModSoul/pseuds/ModSoul'>ModSoul</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Between the Lines [9]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Gotham (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Abusive Relationship, Established Relationship, Facial reconstruction, Fake tumblr ask, M/M, Manipulation, Post-Season/Series 05 Finale, cloning, gotham is real, real gothamite explaining fictional events</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-01-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-01-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 18:42:31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,325</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22389877</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ModSoul/pseuds/ModSoul</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Of course they all want to know the truth behind the biggest plothole of the show.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Isabella/Edward Nygma, Oswald Cobblepot/Edward Nygma</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Between the Lines [9]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1588390</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>28</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Fake Fate</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is part of a larger series I still have to write.<br/>What you need to know:<br/>- Every part of this ask-stories consists of three parts: The Tumblr-post, the flashback to what really happened, Ed's and/or Os' reaction to the post/memory.<br/>- They started dating after Reunification, by the time the questions are asked they have been married for about a decade.<br/>- The Flash went back in time with files upon files on the DC characters &amp; inspired the comic universe, while Batman made sure that any information regarding it would not appear in Gotham, meaning: The comics, movies and shows exist in the world, while the Rogues are non the wiser.<br/>- When Penguin &amp; Riddler figured this out they made someone write their version which in turn was used as basis for the show Gotham.<br/>- After they made a spectacular appearance at a Comic Con, revealing themselves to be real, people started questioning what is real and what is fictional.<br/>- A Tumblr savy Gothamite ended up answering those questions(, as Batmans information block had been cleared after Penguin guilt tripped him into doing so).<br/>- All asks are stand alone - if they refer to things happening in other Fics, those will be linked(, once I publish them).<br/>- The above mentioned things will become their own Fics, including the actual introduction to the Tumblr-user in chapter four of <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26163706">Gotham Conspiracy</a>.</p><p>The Flashback this time is an excerpt from the book(s) mentioned above. The full scene will be shown in a story about their years in incarceration.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    
<p></p><div class="tungle">
  <p class="tunglebody"><span class="tungleurl">YesILiveInTHEGotham</span>
<span class="tungleask">
<span class="tungleasker"><b>Anonymous</b> asked:</span>During the Con Riddler declared that Isabella was a “Black Widow with a fake face”. What exactly does he mean by that? Do you know more about it? 
<span class="tungleasktip"></span></span>
<span class="tungletext"> First of all: You do know that a Black Widow - unlike the Marvel character - is a woman who makes sure that her (rich) partners die in “accidents”, which makes Isabella's own death rather ironic.</span> <span class="tungletext">For this I’ll just link you to the part of the book - you, know the biographies of the Rogues I keep telling you about that are the basis for Gotham?  <em>*Book 3 - Caged; Chapter: 12 - The man who knew too little*</em></span>

<span class="tungletags"> <span class="tungletag">#Real Gothamite Talking</span><span class="tungletag">#Gotham is real</span> <span class="tungletag">#isabella</span><span class="tungletag">#Penguin and Riddler are married</span> </span> <span class="tunglenotes"> 101.010 notes </span> </p>
</div><p>~~~</p><p>
<em>While staying in Arkham you have two things: No stimulation and a lot of time to think. Thus, my thoughts lead me to the most troubling time in my relationship with Oswald: Isabella. Looking back on it, I blindly focused my attention on the why and how she was killed, but never actually made an effort to figure out who she really was. I belatedly admitted to myself that I did not even know the woman I had been seeing for a week and subsequently shot my best friend - and love of my life - over. So, I did the best thing I could, given my circumstance, and waited for Lucius Fox to visit me again. At that point he still asked for my help when he assisted the GCPD or Wayne Enterprises in cases or the reconstruction of our fine city respectively. Either way, when he came to Arkham the next time, I  demanded the exchange of favours. My help for Isabella’s file. He obviously agreed. Within it I discovered something extraordinary: Even though I was the one who called her last, she had one number in her caller history that she contacted quite frequently. One might think it would have been a parent, but no such thing could be found in any of her belongings. How I never even questioned her lonesomeness was beyond me at the time. Ever the diligent worker Lucius had tasked some officer to track down the caller and tell them of Isabella’s demise. Though, he admitted that he did not look further into it during the non existent investigation back then, but when I read the name out loud, we both made the connection. The person Isabella had been calling was none other than Kathryn Monroe, the woman that once partly lead the Court of Owls. It soon became apparent to both of us, that this meant I had been intentionally set up and walked right into their trap. With Lucius help I acquired the documents from Indian Hill and the Court's Hideouts that had not been destroyed. It painted a terrifying picture. They were indeed afraid of what Oswald - and I - could accomplish while in charge of the city. He was a threat, seeing as his whole campaign ran on exposing the very creatures they had created. Unlike Falcone, Oswald is not someone who would have bowed to their every whim. So they had to get rid of him. Their plan was an easy one: Distract me from my duties and break our trust. At the time they suspected our mutual feelings, even if we did not know about them ourselves. Isabella’s creation was their Plan A, but when Tetch came into the picture they did not hesitate to move things along while I was still struggling with my feelings. When their plans for the Founder’s Dinner failed and it became more and more apparent that Oswald saw Isabella not as the annoying distraction they had planned her to be, but as competition, they changed their tactic and made Isabella draw me further into her grasp and away from Oswald. How things escalated from there is a well known fact by now, so I will focus on my findings. Isabella was created for one specific reason: To lure me in and make me want her to an extend that I would forget about Oswald and running the city by his side. For this they used a woman that came to Gotham to hide, gave her Miss Kringle's face [<a href="#note" id="mark" name="mark">1</a>] and turned her into the Court’s puppet. In addition, Hugo Strange altered her smell to be full of pheromones that would attract me to her whenever I was near enough. Interestingly he used a mixture of average pheromones known for their effect on male humans, Miss Kringle’s scent, because of my known attraction to her, and, surprisingly, Oswald’s. With some dependency inducing substances thrown in as well it became an intoxicating cocktail I soon craved. Thus, making anything I did and felt after Isabella’s death the result of a strong cold turkey withdrawal combined with my already failing ability to accept or even understand my feelings for Oswald. Having worked passed all that gave me the clear mind I needed to delve further into the mystery of who Isabella actually had been. Luckily, Strange keeps excellent records. Through this I learned that she had been a wanted woman upon her arrival in Gotham. Wanted for the murders of at least two former partners that had passed away under questionable circumstances, which in turn made her fit the profile of a so-called Black Widow. Whether I was to be her next victim, I cannot tell as the documents were not conclusive about this matter. Still, seeing as Isabella’s own demise came at the hands of an intentionally cut break line, this does sound like divine justice, karma, fate or any variation of those.</em>
</p><p><em>Sharing my findings with Oswald proved difficult. Only thanks to Lucius’ insistence that it would benefit our recovery and rehabilitation to work through the mutual trauma given the new information, that we were able to have a private meeting in Blackgate. The prison let us use the room usually preserved for conjugal visits, so we would indeed have the necessary privacy. Needless to say, we also used the provided facilities to fully enjoy our far too brief reunion. The shower was heavenly, not only because of the company.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>[<a href="#mark" id="note" name="note">1</a>] Hugo Strange had attempted to reanimate her without success, the separation of her limbs and the decay were detrimental to the process. There were also brief considerations of cloning, but it was scrapped as it would have taken too long and was a process he had yet to refine enough to last consciously for a longer period of time. While he had created a creature capable of rapidly aging a person, he could not replicate that effect to grow a woman into her mid-twenties from a few cells within the few days he was given to prepare the body to be filled with the necessary knowledge for her task.</em>
</p><p>~~~</p><p>"They're asking about Isabella," Ed had started the conversation as soon as he was close enough for Oswald to hear, yet his eyes remained glued to the screen of his phone.<br/>
"Of course, you made quite the declaration." Oswald scoffed and turned his attention back to the order form for new alcohol in front of him.<br/>
"Yes, but shouldn't they all have read the books by now? I mean, they came out years ago." Ed sat down on the bar stool beside Oswald, leaning is head on one of his hands.<br/>
"People are lazy, my dear. You should know that by now." Oswald turned towards his husband, taking in his bored and disappointed expression. "What did they ask and how was it explained?" He humored him.<br/>
Ed took the opportunity to tell him in great detail, even complaining about some of the phrasing he had used, back when they were working on his part of their memoirs. When he finally took a breath, Oswald interjected: "Well, you see, Edward, it is only natural for them to be interested in the truth. They did butcher her story after all."</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I hope you don't mind this change in format. It was fun to write the fake autobiography part.</p><p>I also hope, you find my explanation for the gigantic plothole that was Isabella plausible and interesting - and maybe even a little funny.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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